So far, I have visited the demented world of the Brothers Quay's most famous work "The Street of Crocodiles" twice, and I am still not exactly sure what the film is "about" per se, but there is no denying that has had a profound effect upon me. This is a striking and majestic glimpse into the demented corners of the universe crafted inside the genius minds of the Brothers Quay. Deserving, this is their most praised film, a film known for its beauty, magic, horror, and surrealism.
This film does not take place on Earth. Of course, such is never explicitly stated and I do not even think that that was the Brothers Quay's intention; however, I shall firmly defend such a theory. NONE of the works of the Brothers Quay ever takes place on Earth, at least not the dimension that is known to us. These films take place...somewhere. In the darkest depths of the creative mind, in outer space, in the same universe that all brilliant and demented stop motion films come from. To watch a Brothers Quay film is to be swept away, brought on to a distant planet, and showcased some of the most dazzling and disturbing material one could ever witness. Several times during this film, I felt an inescapable, sinking feeling creeping up and down upon my body (mostly in the stomach area, to be exact), and this feeling was due entirely to the masterful, brooding, and angelic imagery before me (or perhaps I just ate too much for dinner today, one of those two).
All of those who enjoy being cast away into fantastic lands, whether they be of brightness or darkness, must enter the enchanted, but pitiful and grim, territory of the Brotehrs Quay and, more specifically, that of the film which may be their absolute masterpiece, "Street of Crocodiles".
This film does not take place on Earth. Of course, such is never explicitly stated and I do not even think that that was the Brothers Quay's intention; however, I shall firmly defend such a theory. NONE of the works of the Brothers Quay ever takes place on Earth, at least not the dimension that is known to us. These films take place...somewhere. In the darkest depths of the creative mind, in outer space, in the same universe that all brilliant and demented stop motion films come from. To watch a Brothers Quay film is to be swept away, brought on to a distant planet, and showcased some of the most dazzling and disturbing material one could ever witness. Several times during this film, I felt an inescapable, sinking feeling creeping up and down upon my body (mostly in the stomach area, to be exact), and this feeling was due entirely to the masterful, brooding, and angelic imagery before me (or perhaps I just ate too much for dinner today, one of those two).
All of those who enjoy being cast away into fantastic lands, whether they be of brightness or darkness, must enter the enchanted, but pitiful and grim, territory of the Brotehrs Quay and, more specifically, that of the film which may be their absolute masterpiece, "Street of Crocodiles".